Ozzie Newsome

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has been with the Ravens since they arrived in Baltimore in 1996, and he constructed the 2000 Super Bowl squad. It seems as if speculation about his future in Baltimore is an annual rite of winter, but Wednesday, Newsome indicated that he has no plans to leave anytime soon. “I enjoy coming to work. I don't know if I have a bad day. I make a lot of mistakes,” Newsome said. “But I don't know if I have a bad day at the office. With the people that's in this building, I really enjoy what I do. I don't know how long [he'll stay]

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti better not be lying. He left himself open to be put in the same class as former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling on Monday after a nearly 50-minute press conference in which he disputed a recently published report by ESPN challenging the integrity of his franchise. Bisciotti was what you want an owner to be in this situation. He was feisty, defiant, combative and apologetic at times, and repeated his denial of not having seen the second video of running back Ray Rice his wife in an elevator until seven months after the incident.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome isn't interested in looking for a quarterback any time soon. As far as he is concerned, Joe Flacco is the Ravens quarterback now and in the future. "Well, Joe and I have a good understanding of where his contract is," said Newsome during Tuesday's Super Bowl media day. "People fail to realize that he was a dropped pass away from getting to the Super Bowl last year. So, what he did was just back up to what he did a year ago. He's doing a great job. He has great chemistry with Jim Caldwell.

In his appearance this morning on ESPN 's NFL Countdown, former linebacker Ray Lewis defended Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Ozzie Newsome, but he added that the organization probably would like a do-over in its handling of the Ray Rice fallout. "I've known Ozzie Newsome now over 19 years over my career. That's half of my life. I've known Steve Bisciotti over 15 years of my life. And each one of those men, bottom line, has never lied to me once," an emotional Lewis said.

In the past, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has been able to add some quality players in the second phase of free agency because of patience, and that won't change in 2014. In 2011, the Ravens added left offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie shortly before the season began and last year signed inside linebacker Daryl Smith on June 5. Smith went on to lead the team in tackles last season with 123. As of Monday, the Ravens were quite comfortable with their 90-player roster. "Basically, most of the players have been pored over and picked through," Newsome said.

As Steve Bisciotti tells it, neither he nor John Harbaugh is patient when it comes to the Ravens. So when a big decision confronts them and emotions are boiling, they turn to their in-house Solomon, also known as Ozzie Newsome. They do so knowing full well that he'll ask them to wait. "It's kind of a running joke with us that Dad doesn't give you an answer right away," said Bisciotti, the Ravens owner. "You bring him your requests and then you have to wait a day to get your answer from Ozzie.

That big collective sigh you heard late Sunday came from Ravens Nation, which was in full-scale panic mode and exhausting the region's supply of Xanax until the news of Elvis Dumervil's deal came down. What a heist Ozzie Newsome pulled off, something on the scale of "Ocean's 11," only without a casino involved. Let's see, the Ravens get one of the best pass rushers in the league to replace Paul Kruger, who pulled off his own heist when he got the Cleveland Browns to pay him $40 million over five years.

Jacoby Jones ended up being the Ravens' top free-agent acquisition during last offseason. This past season, Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return and became the first player in NFL history to record multiple KOR-TD of at least 105 yards (108 and 105). He set franchise records for kick return TD's in a season (2 KOR and 1 PR) and averaged 30.7 yards per kickoff return. With 31 seconds left in regulation, Jones also had the 70-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco which tied the game before the Ravens beat the Denver Broncos in double overtime on Jan. 12. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said he had some help in signing Jones.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has never hid his respect for the Ravens and some of the organization's top decision markers. So, it was hardly surprising that in his final news conference before Sunday's game, he spent a good part of it showering the Ravens with praise. He saved some of his kindest words for Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome . The two worked together in Cleveland and have maintained a friendship. Belichick called him a “pretty special person, special football person, too. “He's been very complimentary about his comments of what he learned from me, but I think I probably learned more from him than he learned from me,” Belichick said.

UPDATE: The Ravens announced Monday morning that Ozzie Newsome is "feeling fine and headed back to Baltimore . CHICAGO -- Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome was taken from Soldier Field by ambulance to a local hospital after the Ravens' 23-20 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Ravens released the following statement via the team website: “Ozzie Newsome did not feel well after today's game and a team doctor recommended that Ozzie not fly tonight.” Newsome, 57, watched the game, which lasted five hours, 16 minutes and included a near two-hour weather delay, from the press box. An ambulance later pulled up outside the Ravens' locker room while security officials prevented stadium employees from entering the area. Newsome was promoted to the Ravens' general manager position in 2002, becoming the NFL's first African American to reach that post.

You can only shake your head in wonderment at cable TV when an ESPN show host gets it wrong as to what's in an investigative report that his own channel just published. And worse, it's on one of the biggest stories in the history of professional sports. That happened with Bob Ley on ESPN yesterday as he reported the results of a probe by the channel's "Outside the Lines" team into the Ray Rice elevator attack on his then-fiancée and what is looking more each day like a cover-up on the part of the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens.

In their first interview since releasing running back Ray Rice , the Ravens ' top decision makers acknowledged that they failed in their handling of the situation and vowed to be more diligent in investigating legal matters involving their players going forward. Here are the highlights from Wednesday's interview with owner Steve Bisciotti , president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome. How tough has this situation been with how close you were to Ray Rice?

The Ravens' top decision makers acknowledged Wednesday that the organization failed in its handling of the Ray Rice investigation and now needs to rebuild trust with its fans. In their first interview since Monday's decision to terminate Rice's contract on the same day a video surfaced of him striking his then-fiancee, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome told The Baltimore Sun that the team will be more diligent in investigating legal matters involving their players going forward.

The Ravens have had many public relations blunders through the Ray Rice situation, and they had another major one Monday night. Where was owner Steve Bisciotti? And since he didn't post at a night time news conference, where were the other leaders in the organization -- president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome? After terminating the contract of running back Ray Rice Monday afternoon, Bisciotti should have appeared before the media to address questions and publicly apologize for the poor judgment made by his franchise.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has to be a little nervous these days. The Ravens are a few players away from being a good football team, and Newsome has several days remaining before the team begins preparation for the season opener here against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. So, I suspect Newsome's fingers are busy calling around the league in an effort to find a cornerback or a guard or tackle in exchange for his team's surplus of receivers and linebackers. There is a fine line between being a serious contender and being average in the NFL, and the Ravens want to take it to the next level.

As the Ravens hit the practice field Tuesday, one of their AFC rivals was putting the finishing touches on a significant trade. The New England Patriots sent six-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Logan Mankins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for tight end Tim Wright and a 2015 fourth-round pick. Could the Ravens and general manager Ozzie Newsome also have a deal up their sleeves before they have to set their final roster at 53 on Saturday? Ravens coach John Harbaugh certainly sounded receptive to the idea, but he learned long ago to temper his expectations when it comes to trades at this time of year.

Ozzie Newsome, you could make a lot of Ravens fans happy Thursday. As the team's general manager, you have a chance to do something in this NFL draft that people around here have talked about forever. That's right, you have the chance to draft the eventual successor to Ray Lewis. How long have we been talking about finding his heir apparent? At least six or seven years, right? But now you've got a shot at this kid Dont'a Hightower, the big, high-impact linebacker from Alabama.

Jonathan Ogden didn't have to think hard to decide who would introduce him next weekend at his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Ozzie,” the former Ravens left tackle said Friday, referring to the team's longtime general manager, Ozzie Newsome. “I chose Ozzie because he brought me into Baltimore. I respect him, and we worked well together. … It just made sense to me.” The two mens' legacies are deeply intertwined. Newsome, himself a Hall of Fame player, was still wet behind the ears as an executive when he ran the Ravens' first draft in 1996.

Kyle Juszczyk trudged off the Ravens' practice field as a rookie fullback a year ago, thoroughly frustrated after a training camp blocking drill in which he was stonewalled repeatedly by linebackers and safeties. In the middle of Juszczyk's unconvincing audition as an inexperienced lead blocker, veteran rush linebacker Terrell Suggs shouted that Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome needed to bring back Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach. Three days later, Leach was signed to return as the Ravens' starting fullback.

Composed and seemingly contrite, Ravens running back Ray Rice apologized to his wife, Janay, and insisted that their physical altercation in February was a one-time incident from which he has grown. He also vowed to become a vocal advocate against domestic violence when the time is right. Taking questions from reporters Thursday for the first time since he was arrested and accused of striking his then-fiancee unconscious at an Atlantic City, N.J., casino in February, Rice said many of the things that people hoped to hear when he broke his silence in May. “My actions that night were totally inexcusable,” Rice said in Thursday's news conference, held after the team's training camp practice.